Xana & Riya: The Hunt For Mizu
by livinginlyoko
Summary: The third part of my story Pt1: Xana's Story, Pt2 Riya's Journey. The team head back into Lyoko after the last battle and things begin to change as old warriors begin to surface not all of them good, and Mizu moves into the final stages of his plan.
1. The Hunt Begins

**Xana and Riya, The Hunt for Mizu**

**Chapter 1**

Once again a few months passed and the team made some headway Grace was close to materializing Xana and was still trying to locate Mizu after he had disappeared but had had no luck she wished Louise had been there to help

Andy and Kelly had been going out for three years and were now known around the school as the greatest couple of all time and were often asked how they did it but they weren't sure

Riya had been studying the journal a lot and had almost become a recluse she now had found out a lot more about Lyoko and the mansion, she had discovered that the mansion had been changed from a small building that had been there previously and she had discovered that the room she was in was exactly the same room her mother had been in when she was a child

Riya also found out that Xana had once been the enemy and Mizu was the result of pulling the virus out of him and that Aelita had help in fighting Xana when he was evil but all she had were names no numbers that she could contact them at

"Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia, Yumi Ishiyama and Jeremy Belopolis" Riya said looking at the names there was one more name but it had been erased checking a few pages ahead Riya found a list with the same names and again with one erased but this one had one extra "Emily" but there was no last name

John had been helping Grace with anything she might need from checking the computer to bringing things from her room to the factory and vice versa, a small relationship had begun to develop though neither of them seemed to notice since Grace was always preoccupied with working on Lyoko

It was the start of a new day and the beginning of most of the group's last year at Kadic Riya was on her way to her class she once again had avoided her friends and sat her normal seat Ms LeDuc watched Riya as she had been doing for quite a while since Aelita's last message containing certain details about Riya and after Aelita didn't return she had to fear the worst

Kelly was walking past Riya's class on her way to her own lesson it was still a few minutes before the lessons actually started she was going to speak with her but she just kept quiet and kept walking the whole situation had gotten weird since their last trip to Lyoko

The day went on and Riya had to come back to the same class for her last lesson, as the bell went and everyone began to leave Ms LeDuc spoke up only a little but she made sure Riya heard

"Moé" Ms LeDuc said making Riya freeze

"I don't know what happened and I would like to so would a few other people"

"I was watching it but I don't fully know, it happened so quickly" Riya said thinking about the event

"listen you and your friends will need to be strong what ever you are fighting is powerful especially from what I know, but if you need help especially right now don't be afraid to ask"

Riya wasn't facing Ms Leduc but she could tell Riya was almost crying "listen what were fighting you wouldn't even know how to fight so why don't you mind your own business" Riya said spinning around and shouting

"listen I am Emily LeDuc one of the seven guardians of Lyoko I was fighting the enemies of Lyoko along side your mother while you were still just a thought in her mind" Emily said not being able to control herself

Riya recounted the names in the journal, seven names one erased and one not fully written in but then there were still five then subtracting Aelita only four must remain, then Riya remembered that the name that had been only partly written was Emily so that made five

"what happened to the others then" Riya asked out of curiosity

"each went on with their own lives, only three at the moment have paid their own price for their own reasons" Emily said

"which three" Riya asked wanting to learn more than the books she found could help with

"your mother, your father and one person known as William but he is not important"

"tell me" Riya ordered

"your father meddled in things he shouldn't he lost his family, William died protecting someone in the final battle against Xana and your mother I guess could only have been destroyed protecting you or by a cheap attack"

"and the reason your telling me this" Riya asked more asking why she should suddenly want to tell her everything

"me and my friends are coming to shut down Lyoko" Emily said

"you can't we still have to save Aelita"

"it's an order if one of us goes down another must stop what ever is doing it before it's too late"

"like if it disappears and you can't find it" Grace said entering the room with the rest of the team following behind

Emily looked at Grace and knew what she meant now shutting down Lyoko would do no good

"as of an hour ago Mizu has been officially located somewhere in the internet in England he hasn't travelled far but he is still trying to get far away from here" Grace said

"how much did you hear" Riya asked

"we appeared when she shouted out her name and title for everyone to hear" Andy said

"talk about blowing a secret" Kelly added

"so you and several others were the first guardians of Lyoko, what happened back then" John asked

"a lot of things happened but right now those aren't important, the question is how long has he been gone for" Emily asked

"about four months and I don't know how long he will stay gone" Grace said

A silence went over the group and then Grace's laptop bleeped, immediately Grace opened it and checked and saw that something had popped up when Grace saw what it was important and ran out of the room with the team including Emily behind her

"what is it" Kelly asked

"well funnily two things at once the first is Xana's materialization has finished and he can now be brought to the real world the other is Mizu has just launched an attack"

As the group entered the sewers a Mizu spectre appeared in front of the group everyone began to back up but were stopped by Emily "have you all been into Lyoko" Emily asked each one of them nodded

"then keep going" Emily said pushing the team forward

The Mizu spectre attacked Grace and tried to take over her body but no luck, Emily just casually picked her up and carried her until the Mizu spectre left her body no one really understood what had just happened to Grace but they were slightly impressed by Emily's calmness of the situation.

Arriving at the factory Everyone quickly entered Lyoko except for Emily who went into the computer room just in case the spectre tried to attack Grace and disrupt the computer; though she felt that Mizu would now be concentrating on the tea in Lyoko than outside of Lyoko.

As everyone landed in Lyoko the thoughts of what had happened last time still echoed, everyone took slow steps forward breaking through old barriers and old wounds that had not yet healed. Riya still hadn't moved everything was still too much for her and despite everything she tried she still couldn't move and as the force of things hit her it took Xana who had just appeared to catch her as everyone else was distracted by one sight that Riya had still yet too see.

In the distance was a large blue object that looked as though someone had built a planet into the middle of Lyoko, it even seemed like a planet as it was revolving slowly.

"hey are any of you gonna help me" Xana said getting the teams attention

Everyone quickly rushed over but they couldn't do anything, Riya had too work everything out in her own time and get back to her old ways.

Grace began creating the teams vehicles which she realised they had barely used since they originally created them, Andy quickly grabbed the ATV which allowed Riya to be placed onto the back. Kelly jumped up letting her inline skates appear on her feet.

They quickly set off with Andy and Xana following behind so that Riya would not be attacked from behind and even if she was they could take them down, John noticed the armour that Xana was wearing was extremely different from the one he had been wearing the last time anyone had seen him.

"it appeared when this big blue thing appeared as well, I also have a few new tricks up my sleeve just waiting for Mizu to appear" Xana said with a smile then scarily reminded him of Nerst before he had been destroyed

As the team entered the sphere Mizu watched from close by keeping hidden and smiling happily "well Xana it appears your going along like I planned, now all I need is the idiots that trapped me last time and everything will be ready for our final plan, don't you agree Jeremy, William." Mizu laughed and slowly changed into a white cloud of data slipping away in to the sphere.

The two people that Mizu had been speaking too were still there, two black humanoid shapes with blank white eyes neither seemed like they knew where they were or what they were doing as they slowly began to follow the team.

Chapter 1 End

**Man it's been a while, can't remember the last time I wrote a fanfic or even got an old one finished but I'm back with this project, hoped you all liked what's just happened and you know what this means, MASSIVE BATTLE COMING SOON, so stay tuned for the next chapter**

**Chapter 2: Riya's Reason & Xana's Tricks**


	2. Riya's Reasons & Xana's Tricks

Xana and Riya, The Hunt for Mizu

**Xana and Riya, The Hunt for Mizu**

**Chapter 2**

"**I'll just sneak in here and…oh your all here and waiting for the next chapter, sorry for the delay but I am slightly lazy and had lost touch with the thing that makes me want to write i.e. school, now college. I hope I will always have something like this that will make me want to write, so without further stalling here's chapter 2"**

As the team made there way through the maze of corridors that littered the blue planet, Riya was amazingly the loudest of the group everyone else was extremely quiet possibly through respect or fear it was a very fine line.

Andy was trying to move the surrounding areas but to no avail it appeared his powers has no effect unlike in the other regions of Lyoko, this was a worry as he would normally be counted on for the teams defensive strategy. Riya was still in her state of shock and inside her head she was alone moving about the regions of Lyoko calling for the others. As Riya moved she could feel an aura not to far from her; it felt familiar and kind like one that had protected her before but getting closer the aura felt cold and unwelcoming which Riya didn't like but she found a strange need to go further inward. Each step made her body feel numb and made the feeling worse and worse with each movement. Soon Riya spotted the shape that was making the feeling, a black cloud swarming around a person who was doing there best to fight it but appeared to be losing. As the last few swings of the persons sword were made, they fell and were covered by the cloud. Riya saw and felt the transformation that was taking place in front of her and watched as what she suspected was once human changed in a black humanoid shape with soulless white eyes.

The creature spotted Riya and rushed towards her, as it did she readied her bow quickly charged the shot and prepared to fire.

The rest of the group had managed to loosen some of the passageways around the blue planet by hitting keys that Emily had been pointing out to Grace. "so what is this place anyway" John asked finally breaking the cold dense silence, "it's called Carthage" Emily said also adding "and I'm amazed Jeremy never thought of using the vehicles in here it would have made things a lot easier"

"why are we here anyway" Kelly asked having a point that Mizu hadn't appeared and nothing seemed to be going on, it was true that Grace did want to pull them out and start on Xana's materialization but there was a shared curiosity between her and Emily that meant both wanted to explore further.

Xana's nerves were on edge though he kept a calm face, while Grace had been working on bringing him to earth he had been focusing on this new sector trying to learn what he could from data that had emerged with it's appearance. On thing he knew was that something was kept in this place something with the file name _"The Sword" _and what ever it was, he had been the reason for it, he guessed it was a creation of his from long ago. Not knowing what it's purpose was or what it was troubled him, the only information was that it required a lot of power to release from Carthage but after it was released what was supposed to happen, was it a weapon he could control or something completely different.

As the group moved around Carthage they eventually, ended up at a long single pathway that stuck out from the rest of the place and was the only area without much cover and only one way in or out, Emily told them to go ahead it was important that they accessed the panel at the far end. Getting of their vehicles and moving down the pathway with John and Xana holding Riya who seemed to be braking out of the shock that had come over her. Riya was able to stand up on her own but she didn't move unless someone pushed he gently, Xana went over to the screen that was at the end of the walkway and began working on it with the help of Grace and Emily.

While everyone was distracted with the information that was coming out of the panel along with Xana's explanations of each part, no one noticed that Riya was moving walking away from the group and heading back towards the sphere and was drawing her bow ready to attack what ever was there. It was at this moment that Riya's imagination and reality came together, releasing an arrow from her bow which struck the creature in her mind and in reality, something that was invisible.

Everyone turned as the arrow hit and a shout of pain echoed through Carthage, Riya fired again making the creature howl. Andy and John moved quickly and went in front of Riya with the rest of the team standing behind just waiting for the creature to move. When the creature just stood there and didn't attack they were close to dropping there guard if it hadn't been for Riya who still had her bow drawn and was watching the eyes of the creature. Despite it not having any pupils Riya could tell it was looking at her then it looked away, only for a second but Riya could tell. Knowing why, Riya span around making everyone duck and launched several arrows into the air above the panel the group had previously been using hitting another creature that had been invisible.

"we're trapped" Kelly said aiming her arms at each creature ready to blast either creature

"Andy can you do anything" John whispered hoping that Andy had been able to move things in Carthage

"no, this entire place is different compared to the other zones"

The two creatures kept still at both ends of the walkway trapping the entire group, as the backed up making sure that there were no weak spots in their defence, Riya could feel a peculiar aura close by that made her calm for a second slightly releasing the grip she had on her bow. As the place grew quiet with everyone worried about what would happen as neither creature had attacked. A short sound suddenly echoed through the entire place, followed by another and another, soon everyone knew what the sound was. Grace knew only a few seconds before everyone else who was about to appear and that was only because she recognised the symbol that had appeared on the screen.

He made no sound as he appeared but he didn't need to Mizu was generating a fearsome aura that had everyone frozen, all the group could do was watch as he walked to the small point between being on the walkway and being inside Carthage. Riya slowly began to move making sure that Mizu did not see what she was doing. Focusing all her energy internally, Riya began making her self faster and stronger despite the draining on her life points that had begun.

Riya moved so quickly that no one realised she had gone at first until Mizu raised his sword, which had become a katana since last time, followed by the sound of Riya's sword which managed to cause a small crack in the blade.

The two creatures looked toward Mizu's position and had begun to make a move until Xana wrapped his sickle/scythe around the one next to the terminal, while John and Kelly blocked the other one to allow Riya more time.

Both creatures were amazingly strong and faster than any one expected, even Andy who could only watch as his team mates tried to keep the two monsters at bay, Andy kept trying to move the pathway to allow everyone to fight better. Since it was dangerous and they would be able to pull of better moves if the battleground was more suited to them.

Riya kept on assaulting Mizu hoping that she could break him in half for what he did to her mother but his power had grown in the same way that hers was being boosted by her own power. Mizu laughed knowing that Riya's attempt was terrible, his power had doubled and it would take more than she could create to even make him sweat.

Andy's attempts to move the platform were having an unexpected effect on the walkway, it was slowly breaking it, but Andy wouldn't stop he wanted to help his friends and was trying to do all he could but Mizu was watching and had already known what was about to happen.

Waiting for a break in Riya's defence, Mizu attacked and knocked Riya aside leaving her weak and unable to even move, then quickly moved to the walkway and slammed down his katana into a break and forcing energy into his sword to quicken the walkways collapse. Smiling as the group dropped toward the oblivion waiting below, Mizu turned and went to finish off Riya leaving both off his monsters to follow behind him.

Walking toward Riya, Mizu sensed a large amount of power being used and suddenly felt his monsters be hit painfully. Turning around Mizu saw the team floating suspended on a black cloud of data that Xana was generating while Kelly had launched powerful quills directly into the back of both of Mizu's new monsters.

"you're full of surprises today aren't you Xana" Mizu said slightly impressed

"me, I'm not the surprise" Xana said pointing behind Mizu

Mizu turned expecting Riya to be standing and about to launch an attack but he hadn't sensed her so he didn't expect what was about to happen. A fist was about three seconds away from his face when he turned toward where Xana had pointed. The fist slammed hard into Mizu and sent him flying backward a few meters.

"you know it's been a few years but you never do forget how to do the old tricks" Emily said surprising everyone as she had suddenly appeared in Lyoko wearing green all over with small parts of metal armour on her shoulders and over her hands. As Mizu tried to get back up Emily pulled her arm back and punched forward letting her arm stretch out and pinning him to the wall nearby.

"suggest we run, Grace figured it out the tower was faked, he wanted you here" Emily said moving to Riya and lifting her up ready to leave

"NEVER" Mizu shouted unleashing a large amount of white data forming a bigger version of his body around him

The team began running as fast as possible going through the maze of corridor hoping to out do Mizu, but no luck he crashed through walls and destroyed every inch of Carthage, Xana watched him carefully noticing a constant drop in the size of his body, realising what was happening.

"how close to the exit are we" Xana asked hoping to think of a plan to stop Mizu

"a few more feet but Mizu keeps trying and there's a good chance he'll pull something before you get out of there" Grace replied

"Andy try to move the ceiling" Xana shouted hoping that what happened before would have the desired effect

Andy began to move the ceiling and made it break apart forcing Mizu to try to dodge and weave out of the way and just like Xana's plan forcing Mizu to lose more power as he moved.

The team made it to the exit and was quickly devirtualized, all but Xana who had decided to stay in Lyoko to act as a first response unit to Mizu's attack.

As the team relaxed and made there way back to Kadic hoping to be able to rest after their mission only Emily noticed the group of people who were standing a short distance away all watching them leave. Emily knew that the thoughts on their minds would not be easy to change and they were extremely different to the kids she had grown up with.

"this is going to be trouble" Emily thought

**End of chapter 2, man this took a long time to do, guess I'm not back to peak writing condition, but anyway the old team has returned and Emily is worried what's going to happen now**

**Stay tuned for chapter 3 "new against old, battle of the Lyokoians Pt 1"**


	3. New against Old,Battle of Lyokians Pt 1

Xana and Riya: The Hunt For Mizu

**Xana and Riya: The Hunt For Mizu**

**Chapter 3**

As a new day began at Kadic and most of the team made their way to their classes things were beginning to happen within Lyoko, Xana had been sensing a strange signal coming from outside Lyoko, it seemed familiar like one he had once been aware of a long time ago.

Inside the factory Emily was doing her best to keep the old team from going to Lyoko, but the most of them wanted to go in and destroy it for the last time instead of letting it stay active.

Emily with all her trying managed to convince them to at least meet with the new group before they decided, really she hoped to buy time to allow the other to stop Mizu and free Xana before the others found out. The old group began to head back to Kadic following Emily's words while Emily sent a message to Riya and Grace warning them but not telling them who just why and when.

The new group made their plan they would enter Lyoko and prevent them from turning it off while Emily distracted them. Leaving Kadic as soon as their lessons were over a moving in the opposite way to the old group having Emily tell them where to go.

As the new group made their way to the factory, the old group did too, having spotted Emily texting and realising she was stalling them, the new group arrived long before the old group and prepared their defences. Xana waited in a tower the idea that if he remained hidden he'd be safe while everyone else waited for the impending battle.

"come out of Lyoko now" a voice shouted being heard by everyone

"no" Grace said

"we'll just devirtualize you if you don't" another voice said

"actually you won't, look" they heard Emily say pointing out that Grace had locked the control panel keeping any one but her from being able to devirtualize people.

The old group sighed and realised that this is probably what they would have done a while ago, so submitting to the other team they virutalized them selves ready for a fight against the new team.

Emily waited behind and unlocked the console by asking Grace, Emily would have no part in the fighting because it would not be fair she didn't want to destroy Lyoko and she couldn't fight her friends either.

Each person was virtualized one at a time giving the new team the chance to look at each one and with each one, all their fear grew. Each one that appeared looked familiar, they had to hold each other back to keep from attacking.

The first one was wearing armour and looked almost like Nerst, his swords were thinner and he seemed more open to a fair fight. As he landed on the ground he stretched having not been in Lyoko for a long time.

The second one appeared and once again looked like a former enemy but this time Miyu, landing hard on the ground she was helped up by the other, it seemed non of them could remember exactly how to land in Lyoko. She was wearing a strange suit that looked like futuristic Japanese clothing

The third looked like Dai except more cat like, the group noticed his appearance was more like Kelly's as he was cat like. He landed without difficulty; he then flipped and jumped around the area finally stopping when he saw the look he was getting.

The old and new groups introduced them selves to each other with the old group getting some strange looks as their names were revealed. Their names Ulrich Stern, Yumi Ishiyama and Odd Della Robia.

"so what are the rules" Ulrich asked wanting to get this over with quickly

"well new versus old I guess, but you guys have less than us" Riya said

Odd whispered something quietly to Yumi who then nodded in agreement, Riya had a suspicion it could have been about her but she wasn't sure.

"How about two versus one" Xana said appearing from behind the rest of the new group, shocking Ulrich, Yumi and Odd "six of us and three of you, one on one fighting with our team switching out between the two people" Xana added

"sounds fair" Ulrich said keeping the mono tone voice he had been keeping through out, "and we'll pick" Yumi said obviously with a plan in mind.

The groups split up with Odd facing Kelly and Andy, Yumi facing Grace and John while Ulrich faced Xana and Riya.

Each group went to a different zone while Emily monitored Lyoko keeping a careful eye out in case a tower was activated, she was worried about what would happen and even had an idea of who would be left facing who towards the end.

Odd began his battle with Kelly in the Mountain sector, Kelly told Andy to stay back and allow her to take the first round against Odd. Their styles were almost the same both flipped and dodge the same way both firing at the other neither could land a hit. Andy was going to use the terrain to make Odd stumble giving Kelly the chance she needed but he could tell she would not want that and would want a fair fight.

Yumi was actually having trouble against Grace and John, in the Forest sector, their double team attacks were good enough to keep her moving around and the fact she had to face a ground and air attack meant she could never attack one without leaving herself exposed to the other's attack.

Ulrich and Riya were attacking each other ferociously in the Ice Sector neither letting up, their swords were ringing out all around while Xana kept his distance ready to move in and help at a moments notice. Ulrich triplicated him self and tried to attack Riya but she quickly spun her swords around and took out the clones and turned to face Ulrich with her bow charged and ready to fire.

Odd kept moving around the Mountain Sector dodging Kelly who he had noticed was getting quicker and stronger but mostly more aggressive. Looking over Kelly's shoulder Odd noticed Andy was more and amore worried with each passing moments. Taking a moment where he was hidden from Kelly's view Odd used one of the few tricks that he had left and teleported to Andy's side making Andy jump as Odd suddenly appeared by his side.

"hi" Odd said to a still shocked Andy

"how did you do that" Andy asked amazed that Odd had just appeared

"it's a newer trick than any of my others but I need to know if Kelly has a certain ability" Odd asked hoping that he had been wrong in his guess

"if she keeps fighting she gets more aggressive and violent, she's probably in stage two now and is close to reaching stage three" Andy quickly explained which didn't help as Odd had figured this out

"have you ever seen her stage three form" Odd asked and watched Andy shake his head "well you're probably about to see it"

Kelly appeared on top of one of the trees nearby and looked extremely different from her normal self, her quills were growing all over completely covering her, both the quills and the small amounts of fur that could still be seen was blood red. Kelly let out a roar that terrified Andy it was the first time she had ever gone this far into stage three and he knew what would happen.

Kelly launched herself forward ripping away at parts of the mountain sector, as she was moving. Andy created a wall between her and him but she broke through and kept coming. As Kelly reached Andy, Emily put Odd's plan to work she devirtualized Kelly and Andy, Andy didn't want to see Kelly that way and Odd knew that Kelly's power would need to be refined to keep it from happening again. As the two were sent away, Odd began to head back to where they had started knowing that, that was just the first round the next ones were gonna be much more interesting.

Grace and John kept up with their attacks on Yumi moving quickly around her giving Yumi no time to concentrate and making her confused about who was where. Knowing that the amount of time that she would last against them was growing short Yumi decided that she had to take out one of them and leave the other to the rest of the team. Dodging a few more attacks Yumi concentrated on Grace, she knew that Grace was probably the main leader of the group and had planned the attack that was currently out doing her.

Yumi leapt up and span at Grace catching her off guard and knocking her to the floor, twirling her fans and keeping John off Yumi for a few seconds as she sent Grace back to the real world. John attacked Yumi who was too tired to keep fighting and began to send her back to the real world too. As Yumi was sent back she was sure that she spotted Aelita watching her from only a little distance away, she wanted to reach out and talk to her but it was too late.

Ulrich wasn't having as much trouble as the others were facing Riya was a challenge but to him it just seemed like a warm up, despite it being quite a while sine they were last in Lyoko Ulrich had been practicing a lot just in case. Keeping sword to sword with Riya was enough he just had to be careful since he had never fought someone that was close enough to be on par with him. Xana wanted to attack but Riya had given him an order to stay back and he wasn't going to break a promise, Xana could sense the other battles going on her could tell that Kelly and Andy were gone and that Grace had lost. Riya flipped backward landing at Xana's side and asked for an update on the others.

"Grace, Andy and Kelly lost their battles, Odd is sitting around and waiting, John is moving towards him" Xana said slightly impressed that he could pick up all of that

"okay lets switch out I'll go and attack Odd and tell John to head your way, that way when we get to the other we'll be a lot stronger, do you think you can hold Ulrich until John gets here" Riya asked slightly worried about Xana

Ulrich dashed quickly hoping to hit Xana and destroy him but was blocked by Xana's scythe followed by a few successive slashes that made Ulrich drop back "yeah I can hold him" Xana said

Riya rushed off informing John of the plan, while Xana began his battle. Ulrich was happy that he would finally get a chance against Xana and prepared to wipe him out before back up arrived.

While all of the fighting was going on Mizu was watching it intently waiting to start the next stage of his plan, next to him were Jeremy and William still held in the monstrous forms he had given them. Both of them had begun to evolve becoming stronger, William growled angrily watching Ulrich fight while Jeremy did the same about Odd. Mizu knew what they were thinking but he couldn't have them go now.

After all not everything was in place yet.

**The third chapter ends with it being all mysterious and with more fights of the way and with cool plot lines to follow this will get interesting, so prepare for drama and action, and possibly comedy if I actually remember to write some, in the next chapter**

**New against Old, Battle of The Lyokians Pt 2**


	4. New against Old, Battle of Lyokians Pt 2

Xana and Riya: The Hunt for Mizu

**Xana and Riya: The Hunt for Mizu**

**Chapter 4**

Ulrich and Xana were fighting hard each keeping up with the other hoping to slip past their defences then strike. As their energy was draining away both Ulrich and Xana thought that something was wrong, the battle had barely started and they were both felt at their limit. Ulrich took a chance using the last of his strength to attack Xana, managing to break his defence Ulrich would have struck if John who finally appeared hadn't stopped him.

"you look like hell" John joked to both Xana and Ulrich

"something is wrong we need to leave now" Xana said relaying to John his fear of what was happening

Riya had arrived at Odd's position and was walking up to him, Odd had seen Riya but was not really bothered partially be cause he was still drained from the fight with Kelly and also because he had decided to join the new groups side after seeing the way they worked and their dedication jut like when they were younger.

"it's quite strange to see you here" Odd said as Riya stopped only a few meters away

"why would that be, do you think I'm weak" Riya said taking offense to Odd's comment

"actually it's because we swore we would never let our children come here" Odd answered looking quite serious

"well since both of my parents aren't around, I guess I'm fine" Riya said raising one of her swords towards Odd

Odd smiled taking note of Riya's attitude, he couldn't help but notice that Riya was defiantly Aelita's daughter, especially in her later years

"guys sorry to break up this little sessions but Xana has just told us that something is wrong, we need you to leave immediately" Emily said

As the process started up for Riya, Odd, Ulrich and John to leave Lyoko the computer stopped and a familiar voice echoed through all of the Lyoko and into the factory as well.

"it's been fun watching you fools fight each other, but now I believe we're ready to begin," Mizu said with a happy tone "we have the traitor, the rival, the lost, the burdened and one more who I do not need" Mizu continued

The entire of Lyoko shook as everyone was dragged into Carthage, Odd and Ulrich were quick to react taking a defensive stance as soon as they landed while Riya and John were helping Xana who was looking worse by the second.

"I hope you all liked my plan" Mizu said walking around the upper section of the arena that the team had been brought to "I hope you didn't think your battles were all fair, I was controlling little things. like Kelly's altered state and Yumi's lack of skill, I'm also responsible for what is happening to Ulrich and Xana right now though Xana seems much more susceptible compared to Ulrich who is still able to stand but that will soon pass"

Mizu's words shocked the group, they could not believe he could have been doing all of those things. "now without further stalling here are my two friends" Mizu said snapping his fingers and unlocking two doors on either side. As the doors opened two huge creatures stepped out. One was a huge black beast it snarled and snorted looking straight at Odd with rage and hatred in its eyes. The other was a huge armoured knight it didn't need to swing its sword as it could have turned it and flattened the group. Ulrich and Odd thought of the Kolossus monster that Xana had once created, these matched in fear and power but the worst part was that they recognised their old friends.

"now let the show begin" Mizu said focusing his power and separating Odd and Ulrich from the rest of the group and sending the monsters with them. Mizu jumped from his high place and began heading towards Xana, John raised his sword and ran at Mizu who grabbed him and tossed him aside without even a glance as he got to Xana Riya attacked but was tossed aside as well unable to do anything against Xana.

"now brother" Mizu said as he lifted up Xana "lets finish this" Mizu finished beginning to wrap Xana in white data.

Inside one of the two chambers that Mizu had created Ulrich was dodging and weaving out of the way of Williams attacks, it would have been impossible if William hadn't of had very little room to move around in.

"you left me here" William shouted his voice distorted as he was speaking through the creature that Mizu had made him into

"did we, think back William remember your sacrifice, you stood holding him back while we shutdown Lyoko for good, you knew what had to be done" Ulrich said pleading with William to see sense

"I was trapped in darkness for years until a light shone brightly one that I thought was you coming to help me, but no it wasn't but what I found did help, I was promised my revenge" William said giving a smile that frightened Ulrich

"do you know how Yumi feels about that day, out of all of us she was the most devastated, Aelita and Jeremy both worked on a way to bring you out especially to help Yumi. when we couldn't find a way she cried and screamed for days" William stopped upon hearing this, a voice in his head was talking separately to the rest, this one voice was reasonable and was telling William to lay down his weapons and surrender.

William swung his sword breaking the floor, while his inner voice tried to fight the control that Mizu was exerting over him but he had no power compared to the strength of Mizu _"Ulrich strike me" _William thought hoping that Ulrich would understand.

Ulrich could tell what William was thinking they had been in enough battles together that they could tell what the other was thinking; Ulrich leapt forward striking hard into the armour of William making it crack and slowly revealing a white orb behind it.

"hold on William, its time to go home" Ulrich said ready to remove Mizu's influence.

Jeremy was breaking the entire arena around Odd trying to crush him completely, Mizu had infected him entirely with rage, he would have been able to hit Odd if he had been able to focus instead of just going after everything.

"traitor…you betrayed me…lied to me…took her from me" Jeremy said roaring as he said it

"I didn't she is yours trust me, we checked, if you hadn't off been obsessed with this whole thing you wouldn't have lost her" Odd said hoping that Jeremy would see sense

"you stole her…made her leave…everything would have been perfect" Jeremy cried

"you were planning on using your own daughter like a guinea pig, Aelita showed me your research, she wasn't planned out she was born for your own experiment, trading one life for another. That was the plan" Odd yelled remembering how he felt when he saw the documents

"she was yours, I had no connection all I needed was Aelita to be the mother for it to work, the genetic data was what I needed but it had to be organic" Jeremy said showing no remorse for his plan

"but would Xana have wanted it, you never told him did you about the trade, you never told him because you knew he'd say no, but their was one problem, Mizu was multiplying quicker, you couldn't keep him closed down…Jeremy this is all your fault" Odd said making sure Jeremy knew the extent of his madness.

Jeremy began to roar and scream the knowledge of his failure was making him worsen and Odd knew it would only be a matter of time before Jeremy was lost to Mizu forever.

Moving quickly toward Jeremy who was trashing around as his real memories came back and was realising that he had been used by Mizu, Odd jumped and slammed a fist hard into Jeremy cracking the dark shell that formed the beast style body around him, Odd spotted a faint glow of light on Jeremy's back. Attacking it hoping that it would free Jeremy, would have worked if Jeremy had been able to throw Odd across the room and into a wall.

As Jeremy charged forward about to crush Odd he stopped and was completely still, Odd looked around and could see no reason for it, until Jeremy's beast form dissipated and behind him was a strange figure wrapped in light Odd couldn't see who it was but he knew.

"Aelita" Odd said reaching his hand out as he got back up

The light disappeared along with the person, leaving Odd again in the slight darkness of the arena, "just like last time, leaving me in the dark" Odd said as he began to leave.

Riya and Andy were watching as Mizu was crushing Xana with data though they didn't understand why. Xana was trying to break free by creating his own version but Mizu was keeping him from using it, knowing that if he did it would cause a problem. Riya tried to get up but her energy was still low how ever Mizu was controlling it they couldn't find it.

Mizu dropped Xana and looked around he'd heard something but he couldn't tell what it was, he seemed spooked by the noise something that no one had ever seen, "where are you" Mizu shouted angry at someone or something. While Mizu was distracted Xana took a chance and began creating black data and then striking Mizu which sent him flying to another side of the room.

Riya and Andy felt their strength returning what ever was going on was keeping Mizu from draining their powers, taking their chance they dashed forward and sliced into him. Mizu knew what was happening and disappeared knowing he would be destroyed if he stayed there and did not deal with the situation. As Mizu left Ulrich and Odd arrived annoyed that they'd missed their chances to fight.

Riya, Xana and Andy noticed something when Odd and Ulrich returned, they were carrying people with them. "Emily bring us out now" Ulrich said and waited as each one was devirtualized.

Returning to Earth was a joyous occasion, two of the old group had been freed though both were extremely weak from Mizu's influence over them, as everyone celebrated Odd pulled Riya over to one side.

"I thought I should tell you, while I was fighting Jeremy I saw your mother" Odd said watching Riya smile as she heard the news, Odd smiled to and was surprised when Riya suddenly hugged him

Odd wondered about what Aelita had told him before she had disappeared to investigate Lyoko, and was worried that maybe she was hiding a lot more than he knew.

**So another chapter ends and I managed to finish it quicker this time by a whole day, so things are getting interesting and big things are gonna happen.**

**So get ready for the next chapter "Reflection of the Past"**


	5. Reflections Of The Past

**Xana and Riya: The Hunt for Mizu**

**Chapter 5**

A little time off and I'm back again and will hopefully be able to finish this story before the end of the year so he we go with the next chapter.

The teams sat with their respective people all around the city, Ulrich and Yumi were chatting with John who was getting some tips on how to fight, Andy was with Kelly chatting with Emily about the old days whilst William was recovering while Riya sat with Odd while they both watched over Jeremy.

"about your mother…" Odd started but wasn't sure how to finish

"she seemed pretty cool when she was here" Riya said and then added "what was she like" helping Odd along with his own sentence.

"Aelita was amazing she was always happy and smiled a lot, I remember when you were born she watched over you and never let you out of her site, that was a little worrying but we all knew why" Odd said smiling lightly.

Odd's own hatred of what Jeremy's plan was for Riya would have made him act very differently were he alone but in front of Riya there was a calming presence similar to Aelita, it felt good to Odd to be near anything that reminded him of her.

"so what happened in the old days" Andy asked wanting to know about how the old team fought, "well…" Emily said thinking back to days that were quite long ago "it wasn't to different to what you do now, we had to keep it secret and be careful and it caused all hell of problems with our lives but it wasn't something you'd just give up"

Kelly had been quiet throughout the trip back from the factory along with Andy who had been glancing at her then back at the floor or away from Kelly all together, paining both of them but knowing that neither knew what to say to each other meant that they both kept the conversation off themselves and onto other things.

Inside Lyoko Xana sat and meditated inside a tower looking back towards the days before Mizu had combined and taken over him and his problems had begun, he remembered the joy from coming to life and talking for hours on end with Franz Hopper. Then learning of Aelita and Franz's plans to leave the real world despite Xana's warnings that Lyoko did not seem safe compared to their world.

Xana went a little closer to the present and remembered why he had gone against Franz, angry and frustrated Xana ventured out into the close reaches of the internet and ended up pulling some data in Lyoko accidently which brought Mizu into the world. Mizu began combining with Xana which he soon decided was fine as Mizu was the other side that Xana wanted but after they were one it left Xana unable to control anything.

If Xana hadn't of been inside of Lyoko he was sure he would be crying to destroy a trust like he had done and now people who he had separated and tried to destroy we actually trying to help him. It seemed like everything he had done wrong was being reversed and now he had to pay them back before he left, but the question was how to stop Mizu; with no see able weakness and no way to make him separate parts that they could just destroy.

Xana thought long and hard coming up with several ways o stop Mizu but each in turn had it's problems some left gaps where Mizu could slip through and others had parts where a sneaky trick from Mizu could turn everything around. Only one stood out with the best chances and only Xana would be hurt if the plan went wrong which was exactly what he wanted to keep his friends safe. The only other thing now was to figure out where Aelita was being held, once he knew the plan could begin.

Back with Riya and Odd, Riya had left for a few minutes to get a drink while Odd was reliving the last few moments of their last trip into Lyoko when they originally destroyed Xana. There had been a chill all through the mission and during the final few seconds they all knew what it was; Xana had played a trump card and made it so that if he died one would go with him. William sacrificed himself during those moments he didn't have as much to lose no ne expected much, but Odd at that time wanted to go himself instead but William stepped in so quickly that it made it impossible for Odd to go.

Odd began thinking of his battle with Jeremy and if he did see Aelita, he was saved by something but he didn't really see it, it was a pink light or was it white. Odd's memory of the event seemed to be hazy and with the amount he had been smacked around before it happened it could have been a dream and one of the rest could have saved him. He didn't even really remember how he got out he was sure of movement and barely moving as he left but if someone had been holding him he wouldn't of known, it wasn't until he'd been able to leave the room that he had enough energy to move around properly.

As Kelly and Andy left Emily who wanted to go and speak to Ulrich and Yumi it meant that the pair had to come to terms with what had happened. "I…er…" Kelly started "I don't want you going back in to Lyoko" Andy said quietly which didn't surprise Kelly as she had guessed he might say that.

"I understand but I'm sure Grace can remove it and leave me with just the first level" Kelly said hoping that Andy would understand, "I'm sorry but if you do and end up like that again I don't want to be there and I don't want to risk everyone else in the process". The room fell silent and after a few minutes Grace left the room and despite trying to hide them Andy heard her crying even when she was far away and felt worse than he had before they spoke.

While John was off practicing the sets of moves Ulrich had been going over with him Emily came over and quickly motioned to both him and Yumi, keeping her voice low so that John wouldn't be able to hear unless he got close enough to be noticed by one of the group.

"this groups going to fall apart soon, if not already" Emily said quickly, the others nodded in agreement "we barely lasted towards the end and they are going the same way".

"so what do we do" Yumi asked worried about the kids safety

"Kelly and Andy have already had problems due to their powers and Riya has become extremely different in the last few days" Emily said. "where is she by the way" Ulrich asked. "with Odd, it felt better to put her with her…" Emily said stopping slightly on the last word not sure whether the word was actually correct.

Grace had split from the rest of the groups and had been working in the lab since the battle, she had been conversing with Xana and looking over plans to free Xana without Mizu being able to stop it; grace leaned back yawning tired from working without stopping.

"I've come up with a plan but it's going to be difficult" Grace said to Xana letting him see the blue prints and the full description of the steps. Xana looked it over and then put his own plan over the top of it, it worked out with a few minor changes that were easily placed in an allowed him to convince Grace. He decided not to tell her the plan since he had to make sure he could go through with it him self.

"okay so should we call the team" Xana asked

"no, not yet, we have to make sure everything is down and Mizu is unable to stop it with any tricks" Grace said tapping a few keys and gong over the plan a few more times.

The lab fell silent and all of the team sighed in their respective predicaments and knew that something was happening and nothing was going to be the same, and it would be soon, very soon.

Inside Lyoko deep in the sector that Mizu had given birth to, so that he could create and control things including prisoners and the power drainer that Mizu created in an attempt to prevent the team growing stronger especially with the reinforcements his enemy's now had.

Mizu had an upper hand still due to Jeremy and William as well as Aelita, if they tried to re-enter Lyoko they would be partially under his control, and Aelita had managed to escape for only a few moments. This let the team know she was still alive; Mizu knew he could use that to his advantage and began to plan, the same way that Xana and Grace had done. But it came down to which plan could be adapted and where the stronger points were, Mizu knew that they would just try to destroy him and that they had far superior numbers compared to him, but he had seen the rise and fall of the originals and he would witness the same with the newest group.

The plan that Mizu had been following from the beginning was falling into place: the traitor, the rival, the lost, the burdened all four he needed to put the final plan into motion and next time they stepped into Lyoko, Mizu would have his glory.

The next day the teams felt broken and separated, the old team having lost one member yet being able to retrieve two that they thought they had lost forever gave them a small amount of hope.

The other team however was beginning to break down, Riya wanted to go back into Lyoko and ring her mother out as quickly as possible, while Grace and Xana wanted to put their plan into action but they needed more time to go over all of it. John hadn't been focusing on the separation of the group which without his way of keeping the groups spirits up. And keeping things together had left him oblivious of the things that were happening, Kelly had disappeared angry at Andy and herself which left a more than hollow feeling inside her, she needed to know how to control the power inside her which appeared to flow out without warning with no way to channel it.

Grace called a meeting of the teams, though only a few showed up, the old team appeared but most of her team didn't, John and Riya were the only ones who made an appearance while Andy and Kelly weren't answering, due to her not being around what was happening Grace assumed they were just off some where messing around.

Grace went over the plan with the few who were there, they all seemed pleased with the plan even Riya who was listening intently to make sure she knew her part in rescuing her mother. With everyone filled in on the plan the last thing was to make sure everyone was there as it would take them all the set things in motion.

Andy was still upset about what he had said to Kelly and went to her room to try and talk to her guessing that was where she had gone to, after arriving he noticed that she hadn't returned but had left a note on her side of the room addressed to everyone in the team. _"Dear friends, it would seem that I am becoming too dangerous to fight by your sides so I will try to weaken Mizu for the upcoming battle and hopefully be of some help to you by sacrificing my own power"._ Andy read this in fear and quickly rushed away heading for the factory, if he had understood correctly Kelly was going to wipe herself out fighting Mizu and hopefully weaken him, but he knew that Mizu would be too strong to defeat on her own.

Andy tried ringing Kelly's phone but didn't get an answer all he heard was the sound of a scanner activating and Kelly still crying.

As Kelly's virtualization went through and Grace noticed that one of the scanners had been activated her phone rang and Andy told her of what was happening, it seemed that the plan had been stepped up from a few hours away to right now.

**This took a long time to do cause I stopped writing it mid way through and didn't keep going, hopefully I can get the next one done quicker, so be prepared for the next chapter "Kelly's power from within"**


	6. Kelly's Power From Within

**Xana and Riya, The Hunt for Mizu**

**Chapter 6**

As the scanner whirred into life Kelly took a deep breath knowing what her mission was and being extremely prepared went over the plan she had quickly formed whilst on her way to the factory, while Kelly entered Lyoko Grace signalled Xana and informed him about what happened .

"right I'm on my way" Xana said leaving the tower and moving along the Ice sector heading towards where Kelly would appear

Andy wanted to head into Lyoko and go and talk to Kelly but Grace stopped him saying that right now Kelly need some time; but the look on everyone's face was saying the same thing, that Kelly had just changed the plan and they could now be one person down before the battle even starts.

Kelly appeared into Lyoko; the tears gone but she still felt sad and would have cried had Lyoko been programmed that way, she felt her body begin changing, the power level began generating energy inside her and slowly allowed her to access her third form, she could feel the change better this time, the change let her experience what she would become before she would change and begin attacking everything.

Xana ran quicker noticing the small pink dot that began to grow in size, Xana quickly recognized the ability because it was one he had only just been able to access it himself, the ability was a data form as Xana had called it, Xana knew to stop it he'd have to use it himself.

Kelly's form took shape though it was not as well formed as other ones, it was a humanoid mass formless other than two burning red eyes, the shaped turned towards Xana and shot out an arm which stretched and came closer than Xana liked, what had blocked the attack was a white shield made of data and behind that shield was not just Xana but Mizu.

"ah brother good to see you, shame about this though" Mizu said keeping a sly smile that made Xana think that he may have caused this

"I'm sure you know more about this than I do" Xana said focusing two black data spheres around his hands

"true, but I did try to reveal her potential earlier but she just refused, and now look she can control it and is lashing out at her own friend" Mizu said strengthening the shield as Kelly took several more shots at both Xana and Mizu.

Kelly dived forward and spun using the energy to turn into a drill that pierced the shield and made both Xana and Mizu leap a long distance away keeping close together in case she came around.

"the only way to stop this is either seal her powers or to beat her into unconsciousness" Mizu said keeping a watch on Kelly's movement

"I'm guessing you'd favour the latter" Xana said

"how could you think that, her power is brilliant and there's very little chance of us actually being able to out do her in this situation" Mizu quickly commented, keeping Xana unsure of his actual intentions

Mizu clicked his fingers and three diamond shapes appeared, "all you have to do is keep her distracted while I inwardly invert her powers, this way she'll be unable to actually use the energy she has to form that creature

Xana nodded; the first time in a while he'd agreed with Mizu, both moved quickly Xana charged Kelly and managed to tackle her knocking the creature over; then pinning it down and keeping her from using energy blasts, Mizu quickly began forming a seal as the crystals went into Kelly's form and began draining her power

Kelly knew what was happening; quickly blasting Xana off her and then spinning around and smacking Mizu into the ground, standing up and forcing the diamonds from herself; which quickly returned to circling Mizu

Kelly began her assault again smashing two separate fists into Xana and Mizu neither of who could get up; both of them were drained, it took a lot of data to use the forms and even more to attempt what Mizu was doing

As the third smash came down and Xana could feel himself begin to be destroyed Kelly suddenly disappeared into the ice underneath her which had become water and made her lose balance

Water encased both Mizu and Xana and restored a small portion of energy to both despite the owner of the power saying he didn't want to heal the enemy; Andy had entered Lyoko a few minutes earlier and been using the water to hide himself from view, he'd intended to surprise Kelly and assist Xana and then hopefully allow him and Xana to double team Mizu.

The trio stood watching a pinkish glow begin to get bigger as Kelly emerged from the water launching herself into the air then holding herself in the air with only a small amount of power which impressed both Mizu and Xana; neither could do half of what Kelly was doing in such a quick time.

Back in the factory everyone was watching the battle; Riya wanted to go and help knowing that her powers were close to Xana, Mizu and Andy's but Grace refused to let any more members into the battle. Andy moved to hold Kelly in place trying to keep her attention by assaulting her with weak but continuous attacks.

Mizu and Xana pooled their powers focusing on Kelly and started the difficult process of reversing Kelly's powers; Andy kept talking to her to buy them time but he knew that it would only take a minute for Kelly to notice what was happening.

As the power seeped away, a voice began to shout loudly, Andy was the only one to recognise it as Kelly's everyone else heard a roar of anger and pain, "stop it" Kelly shouted turning towards Xana and Mizu.

Kelly dived towards the pair as Andy moved bringing up ice in front of Kelly to slow her down which had little effect as Kelly's form was hot enough to melt through and slam into the pair just beyond the wall. Andy smiled as his plan had worked the wall was just a distraction and a warning sign for Xana and Mizu to move which allowed them to keep draining the energy which was dropping quickly.

"stop it…stop him" Kelly said; which made Andy hesitate for a few seconds as Kelly seemed to be trying to warn them against something which Andy guessed quickly was Mizu but what it was made a much better question. Andy tried to get closer to Kelly and see if she said any more things but it appeared that her speech was erratic.

As Mizu and Xana began to drain the very last parts of Kelly's power; Andy found it easier to hold Kelly back as she became weaker though also more focused on Mizu; constantly heading in his direction and trying to hit him at any chance. Andy kept holding back Kelly just out of reach of Mizu and Xana who managed to finally cancel out Kelly's power.

Kelly fell forward and was caught by Mizu who quickly teleported to a far distance and held Kelly up by her neck, "well done the pair of you" Mizu said adding a laugh as a small ball of pink energy began to appear from Kelly and slowly went to Mizu's other hand.

"you have no idea of how long I've waited for this power, playing poor Kelly and forcing her to produce all of that at once was extremely difficult, from the first time she used her power I took an interest pushing it to the limit." Mizu looked at Kelly then back towards Xana and Andy both of whom were trying to work out a way to attack Mizu without harming Kelly but it would be difficult as Mizu wasn't going to let them get near.

"you see, a lot of things lately have been falling in to place all beginning your end, and with this final part I can finally move onwards and out of this ridiculous place. The group of you have been so easy to manipulate and because of that you are no longer necessary" Mizu said finishing his sentence by throwing Kelly at Andy who fell backwards as he caught her.

Mizu disappeared and placed Kelly's energy into the same machine that had drained the group's power before when they rescued William and Jeremy, as the energy flowed into the machine Mizu stepped into a pod and prepared for the transfer to begin.

Grace brought Andy and Kelly out of Lyoko and told Xana to head for a tower as she believed that things were about to go badly for the team; Lyoko rattled and rocked cracking as the seams began to separate and caused even the factory to shake. A look went around the team from the older team to the younger one.

The world outside began to shift and caused everyone to panic as Lyoko and the real world began to merge, Kadic exploded as a large blue ball grew out of it and sector five replaced what had been the main dorms. Long pillars grew out of it, areas of Lyoko became parts of the real world causing the ground to crack and towers to appear.

Within the factory the groups began to take the shape of their Lyoko forms which slightly excited the new group but then it worried them as they saw the face of the old team who were all shocked and one was extremely scared.

As one of the final towers began to appear a person stepped out of it and quickly broke into a run, he knew what was happening as he had wanted to try this plan ages ago, but had never been able to though he had given the information of the plan to various people so that in case it was ever successful they would know what to do.

But Xana was in the centre of it and could see the main place where he had to go to separate Lyoko from earth but first he had to go to the factory and gather the rest of the team as this was the final trick up Xana's sleeve and know Mizu had brought it into the world.

The problem was that the plan wasn't as brilliant as it seemed while it did give the person more power over Lyoko or the hybrid that was now being created, it meant that everything became unstable and would start to collapse, without constant source of power it would fall apart quickly.

The teams rushed outside as their Lyoko forms finished applying themselves; Andy was carrying Kelly who was still drained from the fight, and as every looked on they could see what was happening long before Xana appeared to tell them.

Grace created the vehicles of the team with some help from Xana and even found the vehicles for the old team in the system. Each team broke away knowing what Mizu's plan was and split up to take on each are.

Grace and Yumi headed towards the Mountain sector.

Ulrich and John headed for the Forest sector.

Andy went to place Kelly along with Jeremy and William then head to the Ice sector.

Emily went to cover the Desert sector.

Xana and Riya headed for the fifth sector to try and stop Mizu and send Lyoko back.

While finally Odd went off following a pink trail that he swore he could hear a familiar voice coming from.

**So finally done with chapter six and now down to the final 3 chapters to go and not it's all going to be a massive battle between Mizu and the teams. So next chapter is "Countdown pt1"**


	7. Countdown Pt 1

**Xana and Riya, The Hunt for Mizu**

**Chapter 7**

Inside Xana's head a timer began ticking down; the amount of time before a large amount of energy would have to be put into the machine or Lyoko would make earth shatter, he had several plans but none seemed good as each would mean sacrificing things, something that Xana had felt there been to much of.

Riya was only a few steps behind Xana moving the same way as he was and at the same time, she was amazed that Xana knew where to head to as he shouldn't of known where things were but she guessed he'd studied the area. Riya kept her mind focused she knew where her mother would be it didn't seem difficult to work out, she'd be right near Mizu.

Emily felt alone as she reached the Desert sector; she hadn't really thought about it when they all split up but she realised that this was similar to what had happened last time, their forces separated then all coming together to the final attack which lead to more than enough problems; but she was assured that the new team was enough to help them.

Odd was following the pink trail that was winding its way around multiple parts of buildings, trees and many other things; if Odd had been paying attention he would of known where he was heading but he was focused on the idea of finding Aelita quickly so that Mizu would have no hold over them. As he saw the trail grow in size and brightness, he knew he was closer, breaking into a run he knew he'd find her soon.

Within the mountain sector Grace and Yumi moved carefully not knowing what was about to attack them or if anything was there had been no reports from any one that there were enemies but she knew how Mizu worked and it seemed a good idea to make sure no one would get hurt.

Ulrich and John scouted over the Forest sector quickly making sure no one was around and reported it to Grace, as they began to leave a sword flew over their heads breaking trees down: then returning to the hand that threw it. John recognized the sword ages before seeing the owner. The newly reformed Nerst; which lead John to say "great I get to kill you again".

Within the other sectors monsters and the other captains appeared; Miyu attacked Yumi and Grace almost knocking them of their platform, Dai attacked Emily in the Desert sector appearing from beneath the sand. Andy within the Ice sector saw a Kolossus appear which made him smile as it meant he go to really get back at Mizu and as Xana and Riya arrived in the first room of sector five Ila appeared.

Each of the captains looked renewed showing they had new power and abilities, the older team members were annoyed as they recognised the obvious rip off of their own costumes and powers.

As the teams prepared to face their enemies Odd had reached the room where the pink trail had lead him, inside an old room which he barely recognised there was a small pink glowing orb; which made him smile.

Emily whipped her arm forward striking at the various sand forms of Dai who kept popping out and trying to hit Emily from all directions; she was used to fighting several opponents at once and was able to keep up with every trick Dai could throw at her.

"you know it's no fun when the enemy is this good already, there's no challenge" Dai's voice rang out leaving Emily unsure where he was "but what if we see how good you are at close range compared to long" Dai added suddenly appearing behind Emily who quickly ducked and flipped away.

In the mountain sector Yumi had already begun her fight with Miyu; she'd told Grace to stay back since she wanted to deal with the clone that Mizu had made. Trying to keep up with Miyu was the problem; she seemed to know where Yumi was going to go and what she would do before she had even thought about it. Yumi questioned asking Grace for help but her pride was quite strong and she was sure she could do it, an image popped into Yumi's head it was the one of her just before the incident years ago saying and thinking the exact same thing; with Yumi's concentration gone for only a few seconds Miyu quickly attacked her kicking her into a wall luckily Yumi regained her senses before Miyu could strike the final blow.

Yumi dropped back to where Grace was standing, already worn out from fighting Yumi dropped to one knee hoping to regain some strength, "get some energy; I'll take round 2" Grace said spreading her wings fully and taking off toward Miyu who was sitting far off watching the both of them.

In the Ice sector the battle between Andy and the Kolossus raged on with large amounts of the surrounding area being destroyed as Andy fought in a gaint Ice based replica of the Kolossus which seemed to of gotten enraged as it saw it's self being mimicked, the battle seemed quite easy for Andy as he was quicker and able to think up counter attacks to anything it could throw at him.

After knocking the Kolossus around for quite some time Andy finished it off and watched it fall to the ground; making sure that it would not get up Andy shrank down to his normal form and prepared to leave when a large white ball flew over head and placed its self into the Kolossus's chest, Andy watched in fear as the creature shrank to a size similar to his own and began to stand up with renewed energy; we barely any energy left Andy thought his fight was soon to be over.

Ulrich and John's fight against Nerst was going badly not only had Nerst been given more strength and speed but he had made two extra versions of him self though Ulrich had combated that by doing the same which still meant that they were one up but even double teaming the original Nerst did nothing he was still able to block any attack even when John's power began to gather and he became quicker Nerst matched it perfectly.

"last time you had much more power so why are you two weaklings so bad at this" Nerst mocked

It was true that Ulrich and John could feel that they were weaker, Lyoko had mixed with the real world and they were subject to their own bodies instead of in Lyoko where they were stronger and able to put up with the damage they might suffer, while people like Nerst had no limits they could keep fighting for ages and never be tired.

Ulrich knew that everyone would need more time before they were at their strongest to deal with anything that Mizu threw at them as did John, realising this Ulrich began to attack and having told John to hold back he was sure that he could buy enough time.

Inside Sector five which had taken over the area of what was once Kadic Academy Riya and Xana were still facing down Ila; she hadn't moved though she had blocked the way of both of them and seemed determined not to fight them but just keep them here.

"you know it's wonderful to see you again" Ila said not looking directly at Riya but instead looking down with her eyes closed and two swords directly in front of her.

"shame I can't say the same about you" Riya added gripping her swords tighter ready to strike

"I felt I should tell you something that Mizu wouldn't of wanted you to know; but it wouldn't matter anyway now that you're here" Ila said looking up and smiling almost innocently, "I'll tell you if you smile" Ila added.

Riya did smile but it wasn't one you would want to see, it was almost crazed Riya wanted to kill Mizu badly and it was beginning to show.

"wonderful, see how happy she looks now" Ila said towards Xana who had backed away a few steps when he saw Riya's face; "now the secret is, that Aelita isn't here and you coming here is a waste of time" Ila said laughing and standing up as Riya began to lose the crazed look and look for an exit to go and locate her mother.

"but you see this information is now useless to you as your about to die in a few seconds" Ila said quickly running forward only to be blocked by Xana who had moved in front of Riya due to her being distracted by the sudden news of her mother.

Xana shoved Ila back; she flipped gracefully landing back at exactly the same spot and then proceeded to rush Riya again from different sides but Xana was able to block her each time.

Riya was distracted by the news and continued to look for an escape but the Sector's continuous switching had meant she didn't know the way out; realising that her only way out was to destroy Ila she drew her swords and prepared her assault.

An few moments after Mizu's plan was activated Aelita was freed from the digital prison and was able to escape though she was unsure where to go as she watched the real world and Lyoko combine, she had shut her eyes and kept running feeling a strong force pulling her in one direction.

It didn't take her long to reach the safety and solitude of her old house and to find what was drawing her there; inside the house in her room she found a small purple orb that was glowing softly and seemed to be losing power; with a flash of light Aelita's father stood in front of her, no older than she had last seen him.

Aelita ran up and hugged her father; who in turn hugged her back.

"there isn't much time" Franz said "you're going to have to stop what is happening and I'm sorry I cannot be there to help" with those words Aelita looked at her father and saw that he was no more than a recording "I have placed a small amount of my energy here to be able to guide you in this terrible time as a back up against any one trying to breach and combine Lyoko with the real world"

"how do I stop it then" Aelita asked tears welling up as she saw the last parts of her father flicker slowly losing power every second.

"everyone who was in Lyoko to begin with must sacrifice their powers whether willingly or unwillingly; it's the only way to reverse the program and put Lyoko back to normal, I would pray that you are safe now and that this won't mean your death, but I am sure of this as I have seen my granddaughter if only once and she is stronger than anyone would have expected; I'm sorry my mistake has put a strain on everything in your life" Franz flickered again for longer before returning to normal.

Aelita was crying more than ever as her father consoled her he whispered one last thing which confirmed a fear she had though about for so long.

As Odd stood in the room with the two orbs he watched as the purple one flicked and faded away and the pink one expanded until Aelita was there in the middle of the room still crying and as she saw Odd she smiled as he took the place of her father holding her until she stopped crying.

"we need to leave now" Odd said quietly

"I know and I will end this once and for all" Aelita said as she moved her hand to Odd's chest and blasted through it making him disappear.

As Aelita left the words of her father rang in her ears 'willingly or unwillingly'; all of them would leave.

**Aaaannnddd done, took a while again but I am hoping to finish this before the end of the year so I can finally work on other things and put this behind me**

**See you next time for Countdown Pt 2**


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